Saxophone Forum


by direw0lf
(8 posts)
9 years ago

I think she's going back....

Well, the great deal I got on my 20 yo Bundy II tenor may not have been that great.  After practicing for a few days I noticed a lot of flutter in low notes, High G is impossible and overall the sax sounds dead and takes a too much air to get anything from.

So, last night I threw a light into it and it lit up light a christmas tree.  Pretty much every pad on the lower half of the horn leaks.  Mind you this was supposedly repadded prior to pickup.  They do look like new pads but was obviously a hack job because you can see gobs of whatever they're glued in place with.  I then started to check the linkage (sorry if thats not the proper term) and there is a lot of end play everywhere.  Also in a few places there is a lot of lateral movement at some of the mounting locations especially the low C key, to the point where when you press it only about half the pad touches yet very light pressure directly on the key itself it seals perfectly.

So this morning I'm going to decide what I want to do.  I figured the price was a bit low because it was older and cosmetically it was a little rough.  Nothing major just a few normal dings and scratches.  Being it was getting pads and a going over I figured it was a good buy and worth the little extra over an ebay piece. 

If they're willing to repair it free and sort out all the issues then I might keep it but what are the chances of them doing so much work on a cheap sax?  What are the costs involved with doing so much to it?  It could possibly need new pads again, the linkage I know can be shimmed or whatever for end play but the lateral movement would require new parts, no?

Is it worth polishing this turd or should I bite the bullet and spend a bit more on something else?  And I'm thinking I should find another music store since this one missed so many things with this sax, its like they didn't even test it after the work was done.

 

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  1. by GFC
    (842 posts)

    9 years ago

    Re: I think she's going back....

    Ouch!  Sounds like the overhaul needs to be started from scratch, starting with whatever alignment and wear issues are causing all that key play.  Then, at the very minimum, the pads would require resetting and de-leaking and there a couple of other things like tonehole leveling and key fitting that could be issues.  An overhaul that corrects wear and key fitting issues is worth well over $500.  It's highly unlikely that the shop is going to do what is really needed for free especially since, as you point out, their quality of work was so poor to start with.  

    Time to start over, elsewhere.  Pre-sale inspection is a really good idea.  

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    1. by direw0lf
      (8 posts)

      9 years ago

      Re: I think she's going back....

      Well, I dropped the sax off, they insist they will go over it and fix any issues.  They said when its done if I'm still not happy they will return it for a full refund, even the used mouthpiece.  We'll see how it goes once the tech actually starts working on it.

       

      I stopped at another music store that had a used Keilwerth SX90R tenor.  Boy would I love to buy it, convincing the wife might be a bit of a challenge though.

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      1. by Saxquest
        (420 posts)

        9 years ago

        Re: I think she's going back....

        Well, their repair shop may not be very good, but at least their sales staff is honest! I think that's the best scenerio you could have hoped for. Keep us informed as to the results.

        Cheers,
             Mark Overton
             saxquest.com

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        1. by direw0lf
          (8 posts)

          9 years ago

          Re: I think she's going back....

          Just picked up the sax.  What a difference!  The tone is much better, low notes aren't dead and its easier to play.  Now I can get back to practicing.

           

          :::SQUEEEEEEEK:::

           

          LOL

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